Twenty Years After

Twenty Years After, a historical adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet, was originally serialized from January to August 1845. Set two decades after the events of The Three Musketeers, the story finds D'Artagnan still a lowly lieutenant, summoned by the much-disliked Cardinal Mazarin amidst France's burgeoning rebellion, the Fronde. His critical mission is to reunite his legendary musketeer companions—Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—who have since dispersed into vastly different lives. As political turmoil grips both France and England during the tumultuous English Civil War, the four heroes must navigate their conflicting loyalties and personal differences to undertake one final, perilous mission, intertwining their fates with the destinies of two nations.

Reading ease score: 80.7 (6th grade). Easy to read.